Secret Service reported that officers fatally shot an individual who approached a security checkpoint near the White House and fired at them. According to a spokesperson for the agency, the incident occurred shortly before 6 p.m. ET on a Saturday. The spokesperson cited a preliminary investigation, stating that the individual began firing at officers near the checkpoint just outside the White House complex.
Secret Service officers subsequently returned fire and hit the suspect, who later died at a local hospital. The spokesperson also noted that during the shooting, a bystander was struck by gunfire, though it remains unclear if the injury came from the suspect’s initial shots or the subsequent exchange of gunfire. Secret Service personnel were unharmed, and President Donald Trump was in the residence and reportedly unaffected. A White House official stated that President Trump has been briefed on the incident by the Secret Service.
Regarding the bystander, law enforcement officials indicated that the person is in critical condition. CNN reporters were in the vicinity when they heard what sounded like dozens of gunshots near the White House shortly after 6 p.m. ET. This led to a roughly 40-minute lockdown for the press on the grounds and triggered a rapid response from Secret Service agents.
The sounds of gunfire were audible nearly an hour after a press lid had been called at 5:06 p.m., a time signaling that reporters were not expected to see President Trump again for the day. By that time, many journalists and White House press staff had already left the complex.
Members of the press corps on the North Lawn were quickly ushered into the White House briefing room. Inside the White House, reporters were told to shelter in place as Secret Service agents shouted “get down” and warned of “shots fired.” Secret Service agents carrying rifles were seen moving through the North Lawn area following the incident and blocking the White House press briefing room. The lockdown was ultimately lifted just after 6:45 p.m. ET.
Responding to the incident, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the agency was “on the scene and supporting Secret Service responding to shots fired near White House grounds.” The initial event came less than a month after a previous shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
During that prior event, a suspect named Cole Tomas Allen was seen sprinting through a security checkpoint with a shotgun, exchanging fire with Secret Service agents. The current incident involved a suspect who approached a security checkpoint, firing at officers, leading to the fatal shots and the subsequent lockdown of the White House grounds.